May 2021

“Buy local” is getting a lot of attention these days. And it should! Our main street businesses, vendors, and tradespeople continue to grind through unprecedented challenges — often without any safety net of cash to sustain them. Community bankers see the struggles of local businesses firsthand, and you have stepped up to help in many ways.

The financial press is full of news about CECL’s effect on loans, as well as how the effects of the coronavirus will affect CECL’s implementation. Yet, community banks will need to understand and strategize around the impact the new standard will have on their institution’s investment securities.

If my recent aggregate conversations with investment managers are an indication, there is still a lot of seat-of-the-pants decision-making going on out there when it comes to portfolio strategies. And I hasten to add this is not a criticism; it’s merely an observation. Why should we expect anything else?

Attracting and retaining talent is often a top priority for HR departments. The effects of the current pandemic on the job market, have made this more challenging. While there may be more candidates than usual, attracting quality talent and retaining top performers remains a struggle, worsened by COVID-19 and its effects on the workplace.

With the new Biden administration and the Georgia senate runoff election results, there may be future changes in tax legislation that could affect the wealthy for income, estate, and succession planning purposes.

Pete Johnson, President, CEO Opportunity Bank ICBA CHAIRMAN APPOINTS PETE JOHNSON TO ICBPAC COMMITTEE The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) announced the reappointment of Pete Johnson, President and CEO of Opportunity Bank of Montana (NASDAQ: EBMT), to serve on ICIBA’s Independent Community Bankers Political Action Committee (ICBPAC). ICBA is the nation’s voice for community

In today’s data-driven society, we hear a lot about engagement. Whether it’s social media likes, website views, call center touch-points or branch visits, the bottom line amounts to how we engage with our customers and affect their experience.

The more things change, the more they remain the same. As we kick off Community Banking Month, I can’t help but reflect on that statement and the changes of this past year. While we have been challenged far beyond our wildest dreams, community banks have stayed the course in keeping the focus on our communities. We ensured that when the ground beneath us shifted, we remained firmly rooted in our foundation as pillars of our communities, committed to helping the local environment flourish.

TILA. Q: Our flood vendor no longer separates the life of the loan portion of the fee. Should the entire fee now be considered a prepaid finance charge?
A: Yes, though it will have a minimal (if any) impact on the annual percentage rate (APR) and finance charge disclosures (well within tolerances). The Official Staff Commentary on Regulation Z states, “If a creditor is uncertain about what portion of a fee to be paid at consummation or loan closing is related to the initial decision to grant credit, the entire fee may be treated as a finance charge.”